Of Santa Monica Pier
by QuillInkAndParchment
Summary: After the tragedy of Titanic, Rose is attempting to fulfill all the plans she made with Jack...including riding horseback in the surf. What will all of this lead to? JackLivesJackRose
1. Horses

**((I realize that something like this has been done so many times before, but ever since I watched the movie for the first time in years, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. And since this muse attacked my muses for my other fanfiction stories, I need to put it to rest. It'll be a two shot.  
I own nothing. Absolutely, positively nothing.  
This is a Jack Lives story. I can't get enough of them. As well as being a Jack Lives, it is also my first attempt at Titanic fanfiction, so don't be too hard on me. **

**Also keep in mind that I've only just seen the movie for the first time in _years_ so my memory of some things may be a _bit_ sketchy at points. Sorry 'bout that.))**

For the short time they had known each other, they had made so many plans. So many wonderful plans that Rose had not believed they ever really would do. Perhaps it had been fate preparing her for what was about to happen, a kind of sub consious warning not to delve too far into those wonderous plans. His death had bought a terrible determination.

Terrible only because it hurt her that she would never be able to do these things with him, though she was determined to do them herself. She had promised she would never let go, and she most definately wouldn't. How could she when she had promised the man she loved, the man she couldn't save. She wouldn't let go.

It was pretty here, she decided with a smile, looking out over the water, the sand between her toes. Pretty, though her head still spun from the rollercoasters. She was never meant to go _quite_ that fast. Although, she came to decide with a smile, it was a kind of exhilaration one could easily become used to and something her mother and Cal would have opposed entirely. Shaking her head at the mere fleeting thought of the two she had escaped, though narrowly, she shuffled her way along the pier. Time to do something she had, for some reason, been putting off as long as possible. Perhaps because it stuck so drastically in her memory along with bad fake Southern accents and spitting lessons. These memories. So bittersweet. Rose Dawson let them wash over her in the same way as the air did, rolling over her skin, brushing up goosebumps as they went before cascading off.

"Hello miss!" As if without entirely realizing it she had drifted to the stables at the far end of the beach, where a tall, wiry man was busy circling a curry comb over the coat of a rather rotund dapple grey pony. "Looking to ride?"  
Rose managed a nod, looking over the pony with a smile as it chewed almost languidly on a mouthful of hay.  
"Yes. Please. And, um...how much would it be?"  
"Four dollars, miss."  
"Four. Yes, of course." She rummaged through her pockets, pulling up the money she would need as the man slipped the curry comb back into a bucket, noticing Rose watching the horse intently.

"Don't worry, lass." He said with a grin. "You won't be riding ol' Harriet. You're too tall. We save her for the young ones. Hold on a moment, and I'll feth you a proper steed."  
Rose nodded, folding her arms about her middle, glancing around the pier with a slight smile. She was glad to be here.

From the stables came the clip-clopping of easy, heavy hoofbeats and from the shadows came the keeper and a horse. Such a beautiful creature it was, too. A black coat the color of the night sky with not a white mark to be seen.  
"Oh, he's beautiful," Rose whispered with a smile, stroking the velvet muzzle of the horse lovingly.  
"Yes, he is isn't he?" The stable man said with an affectionate smile directed at the horse. "His name's Jack."  
She froze, looking up at the man, eyes wide.  
"It's what?"  
"Well, Blackjack really. But we all call him Jack. He's a good ol boy..."  
The voice faded off into nothing as she stroked the horse's nose, the memories hitting her like the cold water had so many nights ago.  
"Miss?"  
"What's that?"

She hadn't been paying attention to what the man had said, and apparently there had been a question she had missed.  
"Will you be needing a sidesaddle?"  
With a grin, she shook her head.  
"No." She said. "No, I will not."  
He shrugged, retreating back into the shadows.

* * *

This was, perhaps, even more exhilarating than the rollercoasters. The feel of such a strong creature beneath her, the feeling of clinging on with her legs for dear life as they barrelled through the surf, kicking up foam and water as they went. This was by far much better than riding sidesaddle. Letting out a whoop of glee, she let the horse run as it pleased, though she soon slowed him to an easy, rolling canter.  
"Alright Jack!" She called to him with a smile, her heartstrings twanging at the feel of that name on her lips. "Easy boy." 

The black horse slowed with a toss of his head, and Rose circled him 'round until he slowed to a trot and then a walk. She had ridden before, of course. Sidesaddle at a walk, straight backed and proper. Now here she was ridin' like a cowboy, one leg on each side and a picture to prove it. Because for some reason she needed proof that she had really done what she had promised Jack she would do.

* * *

He had forgotten how much he missed this place. He had forgotten its beauty, its excitement. Now he was back, drawing for ten cents like he had before. Before Europe, before Titanic...before Rose. At the very thought of her name he could feel his eyes well up with tears, and he blinked them away. He couldn't smudge the drawings when he was selling them for such an amount of money.  
"Alright, just turn your head a bit to the side...good. Now hold it, okay? Don't move."  
He was drawing a portrait for a young, engaged couple. Happy and in love. What he and Rose could have been. His pencil found the paper automatically, easily drawing out the curve of a cheek, the curl of the woman's hair and the strong, square jaw of the man. They had been arranged so that their foreheads touched, though they turned to look at him, each with the slightest hint of a smile on their lips, knees touching, hands clasped together in their laps. 

It hadn't exactly been a particularly exciting day. There had been a few portraits such as these, a drawing of a duck (yes, a duck) for a young girl, and one he had only drawn recently of the pier itself, the rollercoaster rising and falling like a snake. He set his charcoal down, handed the drawing to the man and the woman, who smiled with delight and payed him a dime for his service. Tucking the stray drawings back into a leather folder which he tucked under his arm, he walked along the beach, whistling, to the stables. He couldn't come to Santa Monica and not ride. It was not humanly possible. Then again, neither was surviving what he had.

"Jack Dawson? That you?"  
He turned with a grin to the stable hand he had known for years.  
"Hey Vince. How're the horses?"  
"Good. Blackjack's grown some since I last saw 'ya."  
Jack had been there when Blackjack had been born, had even assisted with the birth of the foal. He was a namesake to a horse.  
"Yeah? Is he around?"  
"Nah. Just leant him out to a pretty lady who took off along the beach. Real pretty little creature with these mysterious, sad blue eyes. Wouldn't even ride side-saddle, said she wanted to ride like a man."  
Vince shook his head in disbelief, nodding at Jack's porfolio of drawings.  
"Still drawin' Jack?"

Jack didn't answer, thoughts frozen in their tracks by what Vince had said.  
"Wait, what was that about saddles?"  
Vince looked at Jack in confusion and shrugged.  
"A lady came by wanting to ride, didn't want a sidesaddle and said she wanted to "ride with one leg on each side like a man."  
The exact words Rose had spoken that day on the deck of Titanic. Before everything. Before her death, for the Carpathia hadn't had a Rose Dewitt-Buckater on board. A Rose Dawson and a Rose Creek but not his Rose. Not his beautiful Rose.  
Besides, now there were probably many other women who thought as Rose had. Many who wouldn't want to ride sidesaddle.  
"Will you be ridin' today Jack?" Vince asked with a grin. Jack forced up a smile and nodded, holding out money. Which Vince, for one reason or another, refused. "No payment among friends. You've done your fair share around here. Just let me find a good horse."

Jack nodded wordlessly as Vince dissapeared into the cool shadows of the stable, coming back a few minutes later with a pretty chestnut mare.  
"This here is Rose."  
"It's what?"  
Vince glanced at Jack as if he were looking at a crazy man.  
"Gypsy Rose. Rose...Are you alright Jack?"  
He nodded again, carefully this time, running a hand along the horse's neck.  
"I'll be fine." He said with a grin as he swung into the saddle. "After I ride for a bit. Make sure my drawings dont grow legs and walk away, would 'ya?"  
Vince grinned crookedly as he began to brush down yet another horse. Taking this for a reply, Jack nudged the horse into a canter, guiding the mare towards the beach.


	2. Call of Fate

**((Alright, so I'm actually not entirely sure how long this story is going to last. I guess it depends on the reviews I get. It's up to you guys, as long as I have the slightest bit of a muse I'll keep going. So just tell me.**

**Disclaimers can be located on the first chapter. I don't like repeating myself much...  
Glad you all liked the names of the horses. Couldn't resist that one.))**

He had nearly forgotten what this was like. Riding at top speed, just a horse and you, the wind whipping past as you barrelled along the beach with the clean air in your face. It was one of the most relaxing and yet exciting exercises man could ever seek out. Feeling a laugh bubbling up to his lips for the first time in far too long, he let it rip from him, though the sound of it was lost on the wind. Not even this, however, took the thoughts of her from his mind, and the laughter died away all too soon.  
"Whoah now, girl, easy, easy." He murmured comfortingly to the horse, stroking the sleek chestnut coat. "Easy there."

From where he had positioned himself the beach stretched almost eagerly before him, as if calling him to ride along it's sands. In an eerie moment an equally spooky thought flitted breifly through his mind for it was almost as if fate itself beckoned him forth. And when fate beckoned Jack Dawson, he wasn't usually one to refuse. Fate had handed him a Titanic ticket and the love of his life, after all. Then again, both had been ripped from him in far too short a time. Shaking his head, he took off again, letting the wind whip as many thoughts as possible from his mind. He needed a few less thoughts nowadays.

Not far ahead of him, the warm sun glinted off a duo. A young woman, sitting astride, and a pure black horse. There was no hat on her head, and the sun glinted strongly on her bright red hair as it had once glinted off _her_ hair on the deck of Titanic. He couldn't say his heart hadn't leapt at the realization that the woman's hair was pure red, not the mottled brown found more often. However, his heart had settled, for there was no way, none at all, that she had survived. He remembered only slipping from the door he had been holding onto, and by the time he emerged Rose had gone. Frantically he had forced his raw and frozen throat to croak her name, but to no avail. There was no reply. Swimming frantically he grabbed hold of the whistle round the neck of the dead officer, blowing with all the air left in his lungs until a single lifeboat came and someone lifted him from the water. Next came the Carpathia, and avoiding all he knew. Fabri and Tommy were nowhere to be found on the list of survivors. Rose's name wasn't there, even little Cora was gone. Gone, everything gone.

Had he lost his ability to draw as well, he would have gone into complete depression.

* * *

A swift, soft breeze ruffled the red curls she had bound back just that morning into a neat, sleek ponytail though by now the neat and sleek bit had dropped away from the sentance. The wind had whipped strands from the hair tie and they now hung loosely about her prettily flushed face. Flushed from exhiliration and the all too rare feeling of happiness. From behind came the faint sound of laughter, and a set of new hoofbeats. Twisting in her saddle, she found herself looking over a distance long enough to blur the face, but short enough to see that it was a young man on a horse of brilliant chestnut coloring. Gaining quickly on her, threatening to take the lead. 

She stopped for a moment to ponder the random set of her thoughts. This was no race, and yet here she was acting as if it were the most important thing to keep moving, to race whoever this was to the undetermined finish line. She ran the leather of the reins through her hands, feeling the it slip along against the skin of her fingers, the same pale, long fingered hands she had always had. Checking behind her once again, she turned as she realized the anonymous rider had picked up speed, and, at the moment, was literally not over three feet behind her. Turning abruptly before she could pick out any distinguishing features, she urged the horse forward.

* * *

Racing. They were racing, he realized with a jolt as the young woman glanced behind before picking up speed, turning so quickly he couldn't even tell vaugely what she looked like. Grinning at the concept of a race, he leaned over the horse's neck.  
"C'mon Rose!" He said with a grin. The mare tossed her head, eyes fixed on the horse ahead of her. Jack realized immediatly what she had been trained for. A racehorse indeed.

* * *

The sound of her name on a familiar voice startled her, and she turned again, glancing over her shoulder at a chestnut horse, and a lowered head of shaggy blonde hair.  
_Jack?  
_This thought she dismissed immediatly. Jack was dead, she knew. Frozen down in the depths of the Atlantic with the Titanic and all the others in the floating graveyard of a wreckage site. Catching her breath, making sure she wasn't about to slip from the saddle with the false alarm of recognition she urged the horse on.  
"Let's go, Jack! Come on, Jack, ol' boy, let's go!"

* * *

It was his turn to jump. Twice was his name uttered on a voice so hauntingly familiar, from the lips of a face he recognized with a jolt as the woman turned.  
_Rose.  
_He didn't care how impossible it was, his Rose was there in front of him though she didn't seem to recognize who was on the horse behind her.  
"Rose! Rose!"  
Desperately his voice called, and he nudged his heel into the horse's side. "Rose!"

Calling to the girl now, not the horse, he urged the mare as gently yet urgently as possible, leaning flat against the horse's neck.

* * *

For the third time she looked over her shoulder, for her name had been called three times on the voice she had dismissed earlier. There was still no way in the world it was Jack, and yet...and yet.  
She didn't get to finish her thought, for at that instant, Blackjack spooked at some horse horror, and she lost her grip. With a yell she fell from the saddle, though it felt as she fell from the sky, landing in sprawled heap on the sand as Blackjack anxiousley stood over, snorting and bending his neck to look at the woman that had fallen from his saddle.

"ROSE!" Jack bellowed, leaping off Rose the horse before running to the Rose who had fallen. Plummeting to his knees, he brushed the hair from her face, feeling his breath catch as he looked down at her.  
"Come on, Rose," he whispered, running a hand through her hair. "I already lost you once, I can't lose you again..."


	3. Angel

**((I know, I know, I'm a horrible person for not updating sooner. But I've had a bit going on, so...hope this makes up for it! Even if it is rather short. Disclaimers are on the first chapter. Thanks for the reviews everyone! Keep 'em comin'!**

**Oh, and by the way...there's a fluff alert!))**

It was really the most wonderful dream. Entering New York harbor in the giant Titanic, hand in hand with Jack, slipping through the crowds to avoid Cal and her mother. They were laughing, the wind ruffled Jack's hair as they ran, twisting and turning through the forest of people to escape the two they had no want to speak to. Her hand in his, fingers intertwined...it all felt so wonderful, so real, so...heart wrenching, especially now that she was waking up and there was no Jack, never would be another Jack again. It was as if she could still feel his fingers against the skin of her hand...  
Slowly, she moved her thumb, a tingle of shock coursing up and down her spine. Why in the world was there someone _holding her hand? _Slowly she opened a single eye, the blue iris blinking toward the sky for a moment before taking in what was before her...

* * *

_Come on Rose_ he thought silently, slipping his fingers under her palm to intertwine with her limp ones. _Wake up, Rose, please...I don't think I could survive losing you again._ He stroked the warm skin of her hand with his thumb, glad for that warmth. It reminded him so vividly that neither of them had died. Both of them had somehow survived that ordeal in the cold water of the Atlantic, and the sensation of warmth and skin against skin helped him to remember that this was not a dream. He had pinched himself six times already, just to remember that much.  
"Come on, Rose," he murmured, raising their hands to his face, kissing one of her slender fingers, overjoyed just that he could do that much. Ten minutes ago, he had known with a certainty that he would never see her beautiful face again. 

Her hand moved. Jack jumped, feeling the light brush of her skin against his.  
"Rose?" His voice was barely above a whisper, and he was sure she couldn't hear it, but he couldn't manage anything louder. Oh, God, her eyes were opening...

* * *

Her first thought when her eyes finally opened fully was  
_Have I died?_  
For Jack's face was peering anxiousley over her, her hand clasped tightly in his, and the only was that was possible was if she had honestly passed away.  
"Jack?" Her voice came out hoarse, so she cleared it, reaching out the hand that wasn't fiercly entwined in her angel's. "Jack?"  
She placed her free hand against his face, moving it over his features slowly, as if afraid he would slip away into the air. As if she were scared he was only a mirage.  
"Rose!" He exclaimed softly as she moved to sit up, squinting at him in the sunlight, eyes welling with tears.  
"Oh, Jack!" She threw herself forward her head spinning dangerously though she paid it no attention. With her arms around his neck and his tightly around her waist, it was as if all her worries had drifted off. Pressing her face into his neck, she let the warm, salty tears escaped from her eyes. A hand of his was buried in her hair, pressing her closer against him, his breathing harsh with his own cries. Finally they pulled away, cheeks streaked with tears in nearly the same way.  
"I never thought I'd see you again," Jack said, pressing both hands against either side of her face, trailing them through her hair. Rose's only response was to slip into his arms again, tucking her head under his chin.  
"I didn't let go, Jack." She murmured, pulling away again and looking up at him. "I never let go."  
Their eyes met, both glimmering with tears before Jack finally pressed his lips against hers. His hands fell from her hair to her waist, while she buried her hands in his his hair.

When they finally moved away from each other, needing air, Rose found herself laughing, though she couldn't figure out why. In the same moment they stood, Jack pulling Rose against him for the third time in so many minutes. He needed to feel that she was really there, strong, fiery Rose. His beautiful Rose.  
"I never stopped loving you," he said into her hair, feeling her arms tighten their grip around him. "Not once since Titanic."  
"I never stopped either," She said into his chest, closing her eyes tightly to stop the tears. "Not ever."  
Jack smiled, looking down at her, at his Rose, at the woman he never thought he would be able to get close to. Against all odds, however, they had made it. They had made it past a crazed fiance and an ambitious mother, not to mention now the sinking of the grandest liner ever to sail the oceans. Or sink in it, whichever you chose.

"So." He said with a grin, tilting her chin up to look at him. "I believe we have a bit of catching up to do."


	4. Words Spoken And Unspoken

**((Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! You guys are amazing. You all make me feel so important! XD**

**Anyway, disclaimers. I own nothing. I have no claims on anything. Not Titanic the movie, not the ship itself, not the characters...all I have are creepy reoccuring dreams in which I am onboard Titanic. Other than that, nothing.  
Alright, anyway, onward we go!))**

She clung to his hand as they sat on the beach, her fingers tightly entwined with his. Rose didn't plan on ever letting go. They had returned to the horses to the puzzled stable-hand, who looked extremely confused. Even he could see the change in both of them. The young woman's eyes were no longer so sad, rather they sparkled with a newly restored happiness. Jack, on the other hand, looked as if he would never stop smiling. Scooping up his sketches without letting go of his grip on Rose, he had led her back down to the beach, where they sat on the soft sands, close to each other as they could get.  
"How did you survive?" Rose finally asked, tracing the lines of his palm with her index finger. Getting to know him again, getting to know ever line in the skin of his hand. She had rested her head on his shoulder, and felt as he took a shaky breath, tilting his chin down to rest it more comfortably on the top of her head. He shifted position, sighed, made as if to talk, stopped. Rose furrowed her eyebrows, turning her head up to look at him, slipping her fingers back through his.  
"Are you alright?"

He nodded, hesitantly, looking down at her.  
"I don't remember much, Rose. Only that it was so cold. I remember holding onto your hand, telling you to never let go. I told you not to say good-bye so that you wouldn't give up. Then I just remember darkness. Nothing else. After that, I woke up to this...pressure. I was underwater, drowning...I..." He paused as the terror of that night washed over him anew. Jack hadn't even realized he was crying until Rose reached up to wipe away the few tears he had shed. Taking strength from the warmth of her fingertips and the solidity of her, Jack found the courage to continue. "I swam to the top. Freezing. I remember the first thing I did was to look for you, but you weren't on the door. I could only...only assume that you were dead." He ducked his head, squeezing again on her hand, and Rose smiled quietly, brushing the hair from his eyes. No words were spoken, for none were needed. The words that needed to be said were either still to be sorted through or had already been spoken. When the memory of the thought of Rose dying had passed once again, Jack continued, feeling as if he had broken the pace of his story so many times already. Had he been with anyone except Rose, he would have felt like a fool.

"Jack? Were you onboard Carpathia?"  
He nodded, slowly.  
"Yeah. I remember thinking such a magestic name served the ship well."  
They both laughed before Rose continue.  
"But...I searched for you everywhere! Besides, only one lifeboat went back, and only...five were pulled from the water! How did you...?"  
"Luck."  
Jack interjected, his expression settling into one of calm remembrance.  
"I had to force myself to swim until I finally found a boat. I don't know how I did it. I collapsed as they pulled me in. On Carpathia, I was taken care of in a hospital room of types. Hypothermia had set in, and for a while it seemed as if I might loose my fingers to frostbite. But I pulled through, made a full recovery. I searched the survivor list for your name, Rose. Over and over and over again. All I found was a Rose..."  
"Dawson." They said together, Jack's eyes widening as he understood.  
"Damnit. Rose, I'm such an idiot, how could I not have...?"  
"You never would have expected me to change my name, Jack. It's not your fault."  
"Still, Rose...We could have avoided all this sorrow if I had only used my head for once in my entire life."  
"Jack. What you went through...what we both went through was...excruciatingly awful. Unbearable beyond belief. The fact that we both managed to survive is astonishing to say the least!"

They let the silence settle as the thoughts of Rose's last statement reverbrated in their minds.  
"What about you, Rose? How'd you survive?"  
Rose sighed, leaning her head back on his shoulder.  
"I heard voices, saw the beam of a flashlight fly over. I tried to call out, but they couldn't hear me. I tried to wake you up but...but you wouldn't answer. I thought you were dead, and...oh, Jack, I should have checked...for a pulse or something, but I just let you go. Seeing you slip into the water like that was the hardest thing. Though it was you who pulled me through. I was going to give up, Jack. They couldn't hear me. But I didn't. The officer next to us...with the whistle? You remember that, right?"  
Jack shuddered at the haunting memory, and nodded.  
"I swam over to him and blew furiousley on the whistle until they turned around. Then they brought me onboard Carpathia. When the stewards came around to make up a list of survivors, I gave them your name as mine. Partly because I wanted to make it hard for mother and Cal to find me. Partly because I...I had been planning on running off with you anyway, and assumed even if Titanic hadn't sunk, I would eventually be Rose Dawson."

Jack hugged her to him, a smile playing across his face.  
"It does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"  
Rose laughed, settling into Jack's embrace.  
"It does," she responded. "Far better than Rose Hockley."  
She made a face, and felt Jack's laughter.  
"That I agree with whole heartedly."  
They both laughed, and a comfortable silence lapsed between them, only the sound of the water present in their ears, as well as the sound of each other's breath, something they were both glad to hear.  
"Jack?"  
"Mmm?"  
"D'you remember that jacket Cal gave me? The night of the disaster?"  
Jack nodded against her head.  
"It had the Heart of the Sea in it's pocket, as well as practically all the money he had brought with him onboard."  
"You're kidding!" Jack exclaimed, his response part laughter part astonishment.

Rose shook her head.  
"I've been planning to get rid of the diamond. It's...not right to keep it, somehow. The money I'm ashamed to say, but I've been using it. For food and clothing and such. I figured it was better to use Cal's filthy money than to starve or freeze."  
"Drop it in the sea."  
"What's that?" Rose replied, obviousley confused at Jack's statement.  
"Drop it in the sea." Jack repeated. "The diamond. It's the Heart of the Sea, right? So why not send it back to the sea?"  
"Because..." Rose stumbled for words, ashamed to admit the fact that the water still scared her.  
"We'll do it together." Jack continued, slipping an arm around her waist. "Into the Atlantic. It can be with Titanic. Kinda poetic, isn't it?"

Thoughts crowded her mind for a few moments, moments that seemed to drag on for an entire lifetime. Finally, she nodded.  
"Yes. That does seem fitting." She said, standing and pulling Jack up with her. "But not now. Now, let's just...enjoy this."  
Jack grinned mischeviousley, pulling Rose suddenly close to him, capturing her in his arms.  
"Oh, I plan to."  
He said, before pressing his lips once more against hers.

**((I'm thinking about stopping it there. But I'm not sure. Tell me what you think? I'll need to come up with something, but it wouldn't be boring. Probably something abour their adventures. They don't seem the type to settle down right away. Anywho, review and tell me! Loves yas! ))**


	5. Author's Note and Apology

**((Sorry for this, everyone.**

**I'm sorry I haven't been able to add any chapters for a while. My schedule has been pretty hectic. Also, my Muse is kinda absent at the moment. I want to continue writing, but I'm going to need a bit of help.**

**I'm not sure if this whole Author's Note thing is technically against the rules or not, but I'm in desperate need of assistance. I haven't seen the movie for a while by now, and I can't remember the adventures they listed. If you could tell me and add some of your own, I'd really appreciate it. It will get this story moving in the right direction again.**

**Thanks, and I'm so sorry this is taking so long.))**


	6. Pacific

**((I really need to start getting these chapters up faster. Sorry about the horrendousley long delay. My schedule's going all wacky again. Why is it that that always happens to me? Always! Anyway, here's the next chapter.  
Sorry for the mix-up. Heart of the Ocean. Not of the Sea. I think and type different things sometimes.  
Once again, I own nothing.  
Review, review, review! And I think I finally have their first adventure sorted out...  
I had no idea how in the world to end this awfully short chapter, so it may seem a bit sharp. I need to get back in the flow of writing before it'll be any good. **

When the two pulled apart, all smiles and light hearts now, Jack turned his head toward the ocean. The Pacific. An entirely different ocean from the Atlantic. It's waters were far warmer, and now did not seem half as frightening as the Atlantic. He grinned, his hand still clasping Rose's and ran for the water. Rose, however, didn't seem to agree with this. She dug her heels deep into the sand, her blue eyes wide. Concerned, Jack stopped and turned in her direction. Seeing the look on his face, he smiled softly.  
"C'mon, Rose." He said, his voice quiet and coaxing. "It's nothing like the Atlantic. Please, Rose. Just try it. Where's the girl who jumped back on Titanic when it was going down, the girl who cut my handcuffs off with an axe?"  
Rose laughed tentatively at the memories, and took a tentative step forward.  
"Alright." She said, smiling cautiousley as he led her into the water. No matter that neither of them were dressed for swimming. The two simply waded in, until the water swirled about their knees.

"See?" Jack said, laughter spilling out with his voice. "See, it's not so bad."  
Rose grinned, bending down to trail her fingers in the water. Suddenly, she looked up at Jack with a devilish grin on her face. In a moment, comprehension dawned on Jack's face, but too late. The water hit him full on the face, drenching his the front of his hair. He sputtered, shaking the water away like a dog.  
"Oh, you're in trouble now." He said, his eyes gleaming in a mock-threat. He splashed Rose back, who shrieked and backed away. The water was far more pleasant than she would've thought. Their laughter rose to the heavens as they splashed water back and forth. Finally, they had finished, and stumbled through the waves back to the shore.

Neither could wipe the silly smiles from their faces as they once more sat down in the sand.  
"Look at you!" Rose laughed, reaching up to brush the sand from Jack's hair.  
"Look at yourself!" Jack said, gesturing at her wet hair and clothing. "We should dry off before we catch something."  
"Jack?"  
"Yeah?"  
"What comes now?" Rose asked, turning to look him straight in the eye, her head tilted to the side. "What do we do?"  
"Oh, that's easy Rose. We're going to do exactly as we said on Titanic. We're gonna fly aeroplanes, be in the moving pictures. Anything you want, Rose."  
"Anything?"  
Jack looked at her warily, one eyebrow raised.  
"Anything." He confirmed. "What are you plotting, Rose?"  
"Oh...nothing."  
"Yeah, and the Grand Canyon is nothing, too. C'mon, Rose. What?"  
For a moment, she seemed to contemplate the pros and cons of telling him. Finally, she replied.  
"I want to find someone."  
"Who?" Jack asked, laying back in the sand to look up at the sky, managing to get even more sand in his hair. Though with it's color, it was barely noticable.

"Molly Brown. I never got a chance to say good-bye to her. On _Carpathia _I stayed in steerage, to hide from my mother and from Cal. Which meant I never saw her after that night."  
Jack laughed at the mention of Molly's name.  
"Weren't the papers calling her "The Unsinkable Molly Brown?"  
Rose giggled and nodded.  
"She was more unsinkable than Titanic was."  
Looking stricken that she had made such a comment, Rose turned to look back at the ocean. "That sounded awful."  
"The truth often does," Jack pointed out, managing to get a half smile from Rose. "First thing tommorow," Jack said, "we'll get on a train and go...what state is she living in?"  
"I don't know." Rose replied. "That's why I want to find her. If I knew where she was, I'd have found her already."  
"That's true. Well, this should be interesting."  
She nodded, tilting her head back to watch the setting sun.  
"Yes." Rose said, almost wistfully. "And I'm glad for it."


End file.
